Los Angeles Dodgers fans booed Houston Astros players when they were announced on the field for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game at Dodgers Stadium on Tuesday. The stadium was supposed to host the All-Star Game in 2020, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Astros sent three players, Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander to play the All-Star Game. Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve opted out of the game after sustaining injuries.
Some fans at the stadium yelled “cheaters” amid the boos. One fan was caught giving his middle fingers to the three players when the organizer announced their names.
This event is a result of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal during the 2017 World Series. When the scandal broke out, Tucker and Valdez had not joined the team.
The three players were not the only ones receiving boos from the audience that day. The Astros’ coaching staff also received the same greetings during their introduction. Manager Dusty Baker, who used to play for the Dodgers and was not with the Astros in 2017, was not spared from the jeers.
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A day before the game, Baker made a statement in an interview about playing on the Dodgers’ turf.
“I hope they don’t boo them because it doesn’t do any good,” Baker said.
Valdez said that the hostile greeting did not affect him during the game.
“I don’t lose sleep over that really,” the pitcher said. “It’s one of those things that happens in the game so it just helps me just concentrate on my own game and just keep doing what I’m doing.”
Although the scandal happened years ago, the baseball community does not seem to forget it. Dodgers fans also have a reason to still be angry about the incident because, in 2017, the team finally had another chance to win the series since 1988.
The Houston team received punishment from the MLB after the scandal. It was one of the biggest scandals in the MLB community in recent years.
Dodger fans will never forget the cheating of the Astros
— Janice Mellert White (@MellertWhite) July 20, 2022
2022 MLB All-Star game
Despite the incident, the game went on as planned. The NL team started strong, but AL quickly caught up. They prevented NL from gaining more runs from the second to the seventh innings.
In the end, AL won 3-2 over NL. They maintained a nine-win streak in All-Star Games. Meanwhile, the NL team has only won three times.
The New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton was the MVP of the game. He successfully made his first-ever home run in an All-Star Game.
Stanton is a Los Angeles native. He said he was happy to earn the title in his hometown.
“All full circle,” said Stanton. “Me playing in left, as well. You know, you always tried to get a ball thrown at me from whoever was playing left field when I was a kid. Just to be out there is so fun, so cool.”
This All-Star game did not only showcase Stanton’s prowess. Byron Buxton from the Minnesota Twins also delivered a home run right after Stanton.
The game recorded a 52,518 live crowd. Next year, the 2023 All-Star Game will be held in Seattle.